Project Grading

A breakdown of your project and grading overview:

1. Sound Editing - you should edit and combine three different recordings in three different formats. Take screen captures of the separate recordings and the final product. Include links to the files and the screen captures in your narrative. Each recording and the final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

2. Live-Action Video Editing - you should edit at least three separate video segments together. If you use people for stop-motion, you can overlap these two items. Include links to the files and the screen captures in your narrative. Each segment and the final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.
3. Still Image Editing - you need to use the following elements in Photoshop or a similar application: masks, stamp tool, blend or blur, more than three layers, import vector image, import two raster images, export as jpg and pdf. Each imported file and the final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

4. Stop-Motion Animation - (which may overlap with Claymation and Cut-Paper Animation) - You need to put together ten seconds minimum at a 15fps rate or higher. The final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

3. Claymation - (may overlap live action video or stop motion) - minimum two figures, which must have at least two articulated joints. You need to put together ten seconds minimum at a 15fps rate or higher. The final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

4. Cut-Paper Animation - (may overlap live action video or stop motion) - minimum two figures, which must have at least two moving parts. You need to put together ten seconds minimum at a 15fps rate or higher. The final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

5. Computer Animation - must include background, background animation, minimum two figures, 15fps or higher. The final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

6. Vector Image Creation - You need to use these tools: pen tool, transparency, three different brushes, transform, filters and effects. You need to export your graphic as a pdf and a tiff. The final product should be in your narrative. With every element of this project, you need to record who worked and what they did. Without the description of what you did and who did the work you cannot receive credit for this item.

Your project should also include a technical narrative of your work - daily reflections on what you do each and every day, description of tools and techniques used, problems you faced, how you solved problems and links to your resources (instructional sites used, reference sites used, etc.). This narrative should be in the form of a single, HTML and CSS formatted web site.

Documentation is the most important element of this project. Keep it simple! You will get a five percent bonus (if requested) if this project has a community service or educational aspect.

Make yourselves a checklist. Make sure that every element is in the final product. Create a grading rubric which lists the items and requirements and three levels of performance. Your rubric should have a column for running possible points, actual points, and comments. The project is worth 500 points, with a minimum passing score of 350. You cannot pass without at least a seventy in every category and every required element. Reverse engineering is acceptable - a rubric created to reflect 100% completion based on your final product, but I must receive the rubric three days before the final due date.

Presentation Project Summary

Your group's presentation should cover how you will address the required elements which are:
1. Sound Editing
2. Live-Action Video Editing
3. Still Image Editing
4. Stop-Motion Animation (which may overlap with Claymation and Cut-Paper Animation)
3. Claymation
4. Cut-Paper Animation
5. Computer Animation
6. Vector Image Creation

Your project should also include a technical narrative of your work - daily reflections on what you do each and every day, description of tools and techniques used, problems you faced, how you solved problems and links to your resources (instructional sites used, reference sites used, etc.). This narrative should be in the form of a single, HTML and CSS formatted web site.

Your presentation is due by the end of class Tuesday, October 30th, and you should be ready to present by Thursday, November 1st, at the beginning of class.

Interim Assignment

By Friday, November 2nd 2007, you need to use Pivot Stickfigure Animator to create a 240 frame animation. It must have action/conflict and a beginning, middle and end.

This is a pass fail assignment. If you complete it you get 100, if you do not complete by Friday.

This is an individual assignment.

Chris Jordan

Please suspend your work on the project today, and work on this project.

Visit the site of photographer Chris Jordan (link) and visit the exhibit "Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption.

Also view this link from The Dallas Morning News (link). View the gallery. Pay special attention to:
jet flights (link)
soda cans (link)
plastic bags (link)
cell phones (link)

Spend about 15 minutes answering these questions:
What do these pictures represent?
What do these images convey to us?
How are these images supposed to make us feel?
Why do you think that the artist chose to create these photographs?
How hard do you think that it was to create the photos?

Spend about 15 minutes writing about one picture, and describe the problem that you think that it represents.

With a partner, discuss possible solutions for this problem. After about ten minutes, describe some possible solutions.

Please use assigned duties to be sure that computers are inspected during your class period, and that your work area is clean and neat when you leave. Thank you for your help.

Maker Faire - this weekend!

If you attend Maker Faire this weekend and take notes on some interesting demo, you can earn a full quiz grade for writing about it.
If you take pictures and post them to your blog (and write about what you saw), you will pass the second six weeks exam with a 100.

Out Friday

I will be out Friday, 10/19.

You should explore the three different Office suites if you are at computer # 1-12, and the Master Suite applications if you are at computers # 13-29.

Blog about the differences in the office suites or about three of the master suite applications, and explore their functionality.

You should also explore the blogs in the blog list in Reader and find one article relevant to multimedia, animation or game development. Blog about it and what you think you learned from the article.

Please be sure to inspect carefully during the last five minutes of class.

Mrs. Moyers has the key for the cabinet - Danny, Stephanie and Jazz should put the video cameras away and carefully close the cabinet.

Thank you for helping class run smoothly today.

Minimumality

Each daily blog entry must be at least four sentences. It should address something you learned in class that day. You should also include a sentence from the TEKS that describe what you learned.

The Ultimate

Need a project idea to include your interest in hardware and software and building computers?
Need a basic game plan to start your project?
Need to find a way to address all of the TEKS, leap forward in the college and job process, and feel really good about yourself?

Try this:

The ultimate project:
1. Visit Goodwill Computer Store and coordinate some training for their staff to show you how they recycle computers.
2. Volunteer for several days to help the Goodwill Computer Store refurbish computers.
3. Create some basic instructions on the process of refurbishing process.
4. Create a wiki about refurbishing and connect different resources (people who donate equipment, people who are interested or knowledgeable about the process, people who need computers, people who will volunteer).
5. Add instructional content (video, still images, sound, animation) about refurbishing.
6. Coordinate volunteers to refurbish computers.
7. Contact software companies to supply software for free.
8. Possibly form a computer club to legitimately raise money for refurbishing costs.
9. Document your work and present the work to internet service providers, and convince them to provide free internet service with each refurbished computer.
10. Start a website and document some of the families and how they were helped.
11. Get media coverage to gain community support.
12. Hold fundraisers to raise money for refurbishment.
13. Provide a presentation to three community groups (Rotary, Lions, etc.) about the project.

Timeline:
1-2: three to four weeks
3-5: four weeks
6-10: six weeks
7-13: 12-18 weeks

Impact:
a. help families and students gain resources for learning.
b. bring together hardware, software and service providers and provide them with good press
c. develop project management and volunteer management skills
d. develop huge sections of practical experience for your resume/college app.
e. leave a lasting legacy to McCallum of a program that helps the community
f. set an example as a community leader
g. network with business and community leaders to establish relationships with personal and professional benefits
h. get an "A" in CAMM

Good Habits

Beginning Monday, you need to get in the habit of reading my blog every day, and checking off assignments and posts as you finish them. One way to do this is to use your Google reader and mark the posts as "read" when you read or finish them.
You will need to document your job every day, or you will lose points. If you do not have a job, it is your responsibility to get an assignment from the duty manager for your class. You need to consistently earn service points every week to pass this class.
You also need to start posting one blog post EVERY DAY. It should be reflective about something you learned or did in class.

All blogs and comments need to be appropriate. Beginning Monday, students who post inappropriate posts or comments will lose computer access for one day for each infraction. Three infractions will result in a week suspension of access and a full letter grade decrease for the six weeks daily grade.

Google Blocks - TEKS Interpretation

Google's system thinks that we are someone trying to abuse their servers. Since they see us all at the same address, they decided that we are trying to use their service so much that no one else can use it.

If you can get to your document somehow, copy it and paste it into Word, then save it to your "H" drive (studenthome).
If you cannot access your document, find someone to get it from and use theirs as a source and finish it yourself.
There will be no extension on this assignment, because we have already been working on it for a week.
To receive your grade on the assignment, email the document to me as an attachment to your email. Your subject line should include "TEKS Interpretations," your name and your class period.

Blog Challenge

If you submit a blog that is not already on the reader list, and I choose to include it, you will raise your grade by one step (e.g., from A- to A, or from C to C+).
Each student can only submit only one blog, and if the email does not have your name in it or the link does not work, you get no credit.
The best submission (judged by me) will receive a two step grade increase. If you have a 100 for the six weeks, you can bank the raise for another six weeks.

New Reader List

A new list to import into your reader is in the shared folder.
You should: 1. Import the list into you reader. 2. Check the list to see that your blog is listed. 3. If it is listed, be sure it is in the correct folder for your period. 4. If it is in the correct folder your are done. 5. If it is in the incorrect folder let me know - with the title and link to your blog. 6. If it is not listed, you need to send me a post from your blog and be sure that I can decipher your name and class.
If your blog is not listed, you will lose enough points for this six weeks that you will likely fail.